years ago my friend ellice and i were wandering around soho and saw a ‘tire table‘ on display in an art gallery for a ridiculous sum of money – at least we thought so at the time. the table consisted of a round piece of glass set upon two stacked tires. freshly sprung from college, i suspect any amount of money for a piece of furniture may have seemed ridiculous back then, but we both really loved that table. right away, ellice and i set out on a mission to acquire free tires and made our own tire tables for the cost of a piece of glass.

recently, i was in need of a table with a large working space. as luck would have it, someone left a giant round glass table top downstairs in the basement. i put the word out for a table base and my mother suggested another tire table, which i thought was a perfect idea. i immediately put an order out to the universe for 3 tires so that i could make a new, larger version of my old beloved tire table. i was so excited, that i forgot to include any details with the request . . . .

shortly after i placed the order, on my way home from nj, my car fell into an enormous black hole in the middle of route 78 and blew out the right front tire. after 2 1/2 hours of waiting for roadside assistance, my brother thomas, a state trooper and a flatbed tow truck showed up all at about the same time. my brother and the tow truck driver both told me that my spare tire was leaking and it was not going to make it back to the city – i would have to follow my brother to his house, spend the night there and deal with the tire in the morning – which i did – sort of . . . .

my brother woke me in the morning, asked for my keys and told me he was taking my car to the tire store, where he was meeting my dad who was going to pay for my new tire (thank you, dad!). i asked thomas if he wouldn’t mind asking the guys at the tire store if he could have 3 old tires so that i could make my tire table. he was not looking overly pleased with my request as he walked out the door around 9:00 am on a freezing cold sunday morning, but i knew he would come through. 3 hours later, thomas arrived back home with my sparkling clean car (he had taken to the car wash), sporting 4 brand new tires and my other 3 good tires all wrapped up in plastic bags in the trunk.

my next shout out to the universe is to send me a husband who is a perfect mix of my dad and my brother, thomas – no additional details required.

“The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.” ~ Dalai Lama

my aunt fran, who we always called sis, spent every day making life better for people. she was an accomplished professor who left the world of higher education to assist people who may not have been able to receive a higher education without her help, generosity and kindness. she taught children in the public school system in downtown newark, nj and made lives better for all ‘her’ children. because of her efforts helping kids understand that they mattered, assisting them to learn and sharing her light, there are adults today that have risen out of poverty, gone on to college, and made a better life for themselves – a legacy we should all want leave behind.

sis left this world way too early yet was able to do what may take others many lifetimes to accomplish. she spent her spare time doing things like volunteering for habitats for humanity and helping the poor and underprivileged throughout the world in many ways. it’s hard to believe it’s been seven years without her yet good to know her legacy will live forever.

thanks for all you’ve done here, sis – and a big shout out of gratitude to all the people who helped her along the way.

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. ~ Mahatma Gandhi